BUTTERFLIES ON ABACO (10)

HAMMOCK SKIPPER

The Hammock Skipper Polygonus leo is quite a small butterfly. We found the ones shown here in the vegetation at the back of the Delphi beach. Having initially thought this was a Northern Cloudywing (and a ‘lifer’ for me), Colin Redfern has kindly corrected my (mis-)ID, and I have made the consequent changes.

Perhaps unusually for butterflies these skippers are sexually ‘monomorphic’, i.e. very similar in both sexes. Males and females both have completely dark brown wings except for the small white spots.

We noticed that the spots and patterns were (again, unusually?) not symmetrical as between the wings. [That should probably be ‘not reflectively symmetrical’, as with a Rorschach inkblot.]

All photos, Keith Salvesen; timely ID correction courtesy of Colin Redfern…